1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to pet restraint apparatus, and more particularly to pet harness for restraining dogs and other animals while in transit.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
Problems associated with the restraining of large animals such as dogs during transit either in an open bed truck platform or in a closed vehicle are well known. An unrestrained animal may leap from the vehicle and be lost or injured on the one hand, and may suffer injury due to rapid acceleration or stopping of the vehicle on the other. Moreover, an unrestrained animal in the back of a van, station wagon or utility vehicle may also cause injury to other occupants of the vehicle in the event of a rapid stop. While many attempts have been made to restrain animals, particularly in situations where the animal is carried in the open bed of a pickup truck, such restraints are not ideal in that they are primarily intended to keep the animal within the truck bed and do not necessarily deal with the issue of the animal's safety in the event of a collision or rapid stop of the vehicle. For example, the type of restraints that stretch across a truck bed from one side to the other, so as to allow the animal a degree of freedom of movement, often times subject the animal to injury where it either attempts to avoid the restraint and dangles therefrom over one side of the vehicle, or in the event of a rapid stop, crashes into the vehicle cab even though restrained.
There is therefore a need for an improved animal restraint mechanism having particular applicability to large animals such as dogs, horses and the like and that, while permitting freedom to move between a reclining or lying position and a standing position, otherwise prevents movement from a particular location on or within the vehicle. Such apparatus would not be limited to use in a vehicle in that it could also be used in other situation such as restraining the animal outside a business establishment while the owner is temporarily inside, or perhaps while the animal is at a watch post where space is limited, or even unlimited, but for one reason or another, it is desirable that the animal's position be narrowly defined.